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Psalm 33

1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;it is fitting for the upright to praise him.2 Praise the Lord with the harp;make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.3 Sing to him a new song;play skillfully, and shout for joy.

4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;he is faithful in all he does.5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;the earth is full of his unfailing love.

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,their starry host by the breath of his mouth.7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars[a];he puts the deep into storehouses.8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;let all the people of the world revere him.9 For he spoke, and it came to be;he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations;he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,the purposes of his heart through all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,the people he chose for his inheritance.13 From heaven the Lord looks downand sees all mankind;14 from his dwelling place he watchesall who live on earth—15 he who forms the hearts of all,who considers everything they do.

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;no warrior escapes by his great strength.17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;despite all its great strength it cannot save.18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,19 to deliver them from deathand keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the Lord;he is our help and our shield.21 In him our hearts rejoice,for we trust in his holy name.22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,even as we put our hope in you.

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;his praise will always be on my lips.2 I will glory in the Lord;let the afflicted hear and rejoice.3 Glorify the Lord with me;let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;he delivered me from all my fears.5 Those who look to him are radiant;their faces are never covered with shame.6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;he saved him out of all his troubles.7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,for those who fear him lack nothing.10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.11 Come, my children, listen to me;I will teach you the fear of the Lord.12 Whoever of you loves lifeand desires to see many good days,13 keep your tongue from eviland your lips from telling lies.14 Turn from evil and do good;seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,and his ears are attentive to their cry;16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,to blot out their name from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;he delivers them from all their troubles.18 The Lord is close to the brokenheartedand saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,but the Lord delivers him from them all;20 he protects all his bones,not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked;the foes of the righteous will be condemned.22 The Lord will rescue his servants;no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Paul’s Trial Before Felix

24 Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.3 Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.4 But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.

5 “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect6 and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.[7] [a]8 By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

9 The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

10 When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense.11 You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.12 My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.13 And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.14 However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,15 and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.16 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

17 “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings.18 I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.20 Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin—21 unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”

22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.”23 He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.

24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.25 As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

27 When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.

Footnotes:

Acts 24:7Some manuscripts include here him, and we would have judged him in accordance with our law. 7 But the commander Lysias came and took him from us with much violence, 8 ordering his accusers to come before you.

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